Havering was one of 30 London councils to have officially declared a climate emergency in order to commit to reducing the worst impacts of climate change
Reform-led Havering Council has scrapped its ‘climate emergency’ declaration in a bid to save money and make more practical decisions.
The previous Havering Residents Association (HRA) administration at the town hall, in a coalition with Labour, declared the climate emergency in March 2023. It was largely a symbolic commitment that former Labour group leader Keith Darvill said “further emphasised both the urgency and seriousness” of the council’s climate policies.
In fact 30 of London’s 33 local authorities have done the same thing, committing to reducing the worst impacts of climate change locally, but declaring a climate emergency does not come with any targets or specific goals. Only Bexley, Bromley and the City of London chose not to declare one.
But the declaration is no more in Havering either, after Reform councillors – who won control of the town hall in May – voted to rescind it at a meeting last night (July 22).
Councillor Gary Payne, who presented the motion, said the UK experienced 32-degree days 41 years ago and “nothing has changed apart from the way we look at it”.
The temperature peaked at 30 degrees in 1985, but a 32-degree day was recorded the following year, he said.
However meteorologists from the Met Office said after June’s record-breaking heat, which saw a provisional record of 37.7°C recorded in England (2°C higher than the previous record): “While high temperatures are not unusual in summer, the extent and persistence of heat during June 2026 are particularly notable. Records dating back several decades, in some cases over a century, were challenged or exceeded during this event.”
The record-breaking June followed the hottest ever May, and July has so far seen a complete absence of rain in London and the South East. Met Office records also show 2025 was both the warmest and sunniest year on record.
Going forward, Cllr Payne said that environmental decisions needed to be made “objectively, removed from hysterical rhetoric, and in the best interest of Havering residents”.
The climate declaration ‘costs no money’
The motion received significant pushback from Councillor Gillian Ford, the leader of the Havering Aligned Residents Association (HARA), which has replaced the HRA.
She referred to Reform’s use of data as “subjective” that would be refuted by “scientists around the world,” opening her formal response by pointing to figures suggesting that more than 2,700 may have died from the record-breaking heat in June.
The declaration, she added, “costs no money” and that several policies – such as getting children to cycle more, or planting more trees – had wider benefits beyond the environment.
In a statement issued after the meeting, Council Leader, Councillor Keith Prince, who defected to Reform from the Conservatives last year, said that rescinding the declaration “does not mean we will stop sensible and costed environmental improvements which need to take place,” but the council would “look to consider local needs first, not trying to meet any costly targets”.
He said: “We don’t need a climate emergency in place that will force the council to try and meet arbitrary targets that cost the taxpayer money. We therefore put forward a motion to rescind the climate emergency declaration after the last administration brought it in.
“We believe that effective environmental action does not depend on a symbolic declaration, but on delivering practical action that improves residents’ quality of life and protects the borough’s natural environment for future generations.
“It is clear we need to make sure we have a great place to live, with clean and safe parks and streets, however we don’t want to pursue net zero-related policies when they place unnecessary cost or restriction on residents, motorists, businesses, or essential council services.”
Scrapping the declaration is the second shake-up of council policy, after the new administration announced it would no longer fly Pride flags on any council-owned buildings. The only flags permitted are the Armed Forces Flag and the national Union Flag.
Check out the latest from our Wasted project, exploring London’s biggest environmental threats, by visiting the topic page.
